People in mature age who openly profess their sexuality are all too often smiled at in our society. This topic is still taboo even in the 21st millennium. It is fraught with uncertainties and only a few seniors talk about it in public. Nonetheless, sex is not a matter of age.
Just because there is not so much talk about it as it was in puberty, sexuality is not unusual in old age. Categorically reject sex with seniors and assume that age, lust and sex are not compatible, is nonsense. Age is not the same as illness, although in some cases physical discomfort may be superimposed on sexual needs. Sexuality does not stop at the age and good sex increases the quality of life at any age.
Different life stages
It is a misconception that only young people have a need for sexual satisfaction, and that sexual desire continues to decline from mid-life until it finally stagnates. People for whom lust and sexuality have always been important, in all likelihood yearn for it. And those who have had less interest in sexuality throughout their lives do not want to completely change their habits later on. However, here too exceptions confirm the rule. Thus, eroticism and pleasure remain important in old age, even if their own needs can change over the years. So one can and must have sex without further ado until old age, but not necessarily! Maybe it has something to do with the fact that we do not want to imagine that our parents or even grandparents could still be sexually active. And I have to admit, they also belong to me and always belong to the „asexual beings“.
The fact that the topic is omnipresent is easily recognized by the fact that in old-age and nursing homes there are always new couples, even if the relatives would never have believed them. Therefore many seniors conceal even such new acquaintances. However, the issue of sexuality in such institutions has a special status because the privacy of those affected is often not adequately respected. Lack of empathy also reflects the care reports, which are usually not devoted to this topic, unless it comes to attacks. But sexuality is one of the basic needs, as well as eating and drinking.
If the residents are not fortunate enough to find a new companion, touch is often limited to embracing visitors, caressing family members, or caring for the nursing staff to do the washing, dressing, or turning in bed. However, especially for young caregivers, this can be a problem if they feel that they are rightly or wrongly harassed. The best valve for home residents would therefore probably be a fulfilling partnership. So that neither depression nor bitterness can spread, it would therefore even be desirable for the inhabitants of nursing homes to find partners in order to be able to continue satisfying their sexual needs.
